I watched Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, yesterday. It was impressive; the lightness of the different sounds and timbres floating through the air allowed one to hear just the notes, painting pastel shades in the air, without the earthy sound of bow scraping against string or the raspy breath on the bassoon, creating an ethereal effect as though there were no effort or labour behind it. This happens by not using speakers and amplifiers here, which is unfortunate sometimes, as the softer operatic singers could benefit from them.
The colours and tonality of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, along with the 108 choral voices, were extraordinary – almost surreal. It reminded me of the great British philosopher Alan Watts’ analogy comparing life to a piece of music:-
“When you listen to music, you don’t just listen to the finale. If that were the point, we’d only play the last crashing chord or hit the gong, and that would be it. But we missed the point (of life) the whole way along. It was a musical thing, and you were supposed to sing or dance while the music was being played. The essential beauty (of music, or living life) is in the unfolding of it.”
This is a deep and moving quote. However, if taken literally, it’s not always the case. I’ve been to rock concerts where the band played new (“experimental”) stuff from their forthcoming album, which you’d never heard (or expected), and you tuned back in only when their familiar songs were performed, usually only as encores! Also, yesterday, most people warmed up when the 4-minute Hallelujah chorus played, near the end, they even stood up and clapped. It’s what most knew of the whole piece.
Ok, so that’s not what Watts meant; he was making a bigger point about being aware, in the moment/present (i.e. mindful – off auto-pilot) and engaging fully with life. We do seem to rush things to get to the end of it – be it writing an essay, attending an event, having conversations, reading a book, our school days, working days, courtship, marriage .. i.e. all the bits that make up our life!
We don’t like to delay or be judged, so we rush through things without realising that the fun and happiness lie in the doing of them, not merely in getting through them, acquitting ourselves, as it were.
Yet many of us seem to lead our lives that way; I believe it’s a consequence of the stress and anxiety we experience in life. This is why addressing long-standing issues through therapy is essential. Once we lift that weight off our backs, we can engage in activities more naturally, simply being present with others or even watching fine musical concerts! In that way, we feel we are living our ideal lives. To which I say, “hallelujah!” 😊